Existing data on folate status and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prognosis are scarce. We prospectively examined whether serum folate concentrations at diagnosis were associated with liver cancer-specific survival (LCSS) and overall survival (OS) among 982 patients with newly diagnosed, previously untreated HCC, who were enrolled in the Guangdong Liver Cancer Cohort (GLCC) study between September 2013 and February 2017. Serum folate concentrations were measured using chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI by sex-specific quartile of serum folate. Compared with patients in the third quartile of serum folate, patients in the lowest quartile had significantly inferior LCSS (HR = 1·48; 95 % CI 1·05, 2·09) and OS (HR = 1·43; 95 % CI 1·03, 1·99) after adjustment for non-clinical and clinical prognostic factors. The associations were not significantly modified by sex, age at diagnosis, alcohol drinking status and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage. However, there were statistically significant interactions on both multiplicative and additive scale between serum folate and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels or smoking status and the associations of lower serum folate with worse LCSS and OS were only evident among patients with CRP > 3·0 mg/l or current smokers. An inverse association with LCSS were also observed among patients with liver damage score ≥3. These results suggest that lower serum folate concentrations at diagnosis are independently associated with worse HCC survival, most prominently among patients with systemic inflammation and current smokers. A future trial of folate supplementation seems to be promising in HCC patients with lower folate status.

Novel NiMoO4-integrated electrode materials were successfully prepared by solvothermal method using Na2MoO4·2H2O and NiSO4·6H2O as main raw materials, water, and ethanol as solvents. The morphology, phase, and structure of the as-prepared materials were characterized by SEM, XRD, Raman, and FT-IR. The electrochemical properties of the materials in supercapacitors were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, constant current charge–discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. The effects of volume ratio of water to ethanol (W/E) in solvent on the properties of the product were studied. The results show that the pure phase monoclinic crystal NiMoO4 product can be obtained when the W/E is 2:1. The diameter and length are 0.1–0.3 µm and approximately 3 µm, respectively. As an active material for supercapacitor, the NiMoO4 nanorods material delivered a discharge specific capacitance of 672, 498, and 396 F/g at a current density of 4, 7, and 10 A/g, respectively. The discharge specific capacitance slightly decreased from 815 to 588 F/g with a retention of 72% after 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 A/g. With these superior capacitance properties, the novel NiMoO4 integrated electrode materials could be considered as promising material for supercapacitors.

X-ray Pulsar Navigation (XPNAV) uses the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) of the pulsar signal between the spacecraft and Solar System Barycentre (SSB) to determine position. In this paper, a novel method to improve the performance of XPNAV via exploiting the pulsar position vector is proposed. First, the field of view of the collimator is utilised to find the pulsar orientation direction. Then, a searching strategy based on the modified Powell method under given coordinate frames is proposed. We also mathematically prove the existence of the extreme value of the searching strategy. Subsequently, an observation model based on the pulsar radiation vector is presented and applied to formulate the observation function together with pulsar time transfer function. Finally, an Adaptive Divided Difference Filter (ADDF) algorithm is introduced to iteratively estimate the position and velocity of the spacecraft. Numerical simulations show that the vector searching method is feasible and the pulsar radiation direction can improve the navigation performance by 75%. The simulation results also show that the ADDF performs better than Unscented Kalman Filtering (UKF) and DDF in position estimation.

Power repeaters are used to extend the power transfer range or enhance the power transfer capability of Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) systems, but how to tune the power repeaters to improve the system power transfer performance remains an unsolved problem. In this paper, studies of the effect of the tuning capacitance of the power repeater of an IPT system on the power transfer capability are presented. A theoretical model is established to analyze the output power of the system with the primary coil and secondary coil tuned at a nominal resonant frequency, and a passive power repeater placed in between. By analyzing the relationship between the tuning capacitance of the power repeater and the output power, a critical tuning capacitance which sets up the boundary between enhancing and reducing the output power is determined, and the optimal tuning capacitances corresponding to the maximum and minimum output power are also obtained. A practical IPT system with a passive power repeater placed at 40, 80, and 104 mm from the primary coil is built. It has shown that the practically measured critical capacitance and the optimal tuning capacitance for maximum power transfer are in good agreement with the analytical results.

In high power laser facility for inertial confinement fusion research, final optics assembly (FOA) plays a critical role in the frequency conversion, beam focusing, color separation, beam sampling and debris shielding. The design and performance of FOA in SG-II Upgrade laser facility are mainly introduced here. Due to the limited space and short focal length, a coaxial aspheric wedged focus lens is designed and applied in the FOA configuration. Then the ghost image analysis, the focus characteristic analysis, the B integral control design and the optomechanical design are carried out in the FOA design phase. In order to ensure the FOA performance, two key technologies are developed including measurement and adjustment technique of the wedged focus lens and the stray light management technique based on ground glass. Experimental results show that the design specifications including laser fluence, frequency conversion efficiency and perforation efficiency of the focus spot have been achieved, which meet the requirements of physical experiments well.

The Shen-Guang II Upgrade (SG-II-U) laser facility consists of eight high-power nanosecond laser beams and one short-pulse picosecond petawatt laser. It is designed for the study of inertial confinement fusion (ICF), especially for conducting fast ignition (FI) research in China and other basic science experiments. To perform FI successfully with hohlraum targets containing a golden cone, the long-pulse beam and cylindrical hohlraum as well as the short-pulse beam and cone target alignment must satisfy tight specifications (30 and $20~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$ rms for each case). To explore new ICF ignition targets with six laser entrance holes (LEHs), a rotation sensor was adapted to meet the requirements of a three-dimensional target and correct beam alignment. In this paper, the strategy for aligning the nanosecond beam based on target alignment sensor (TAS) is introduced and improved to meet requirements of the picosecond lasers and the new six LEHs hohlraum targets in the SG-II-U facility. The expected performance of the alignment system is presented, and the alignment error is also discussed.

Interleukin (IL)-13-associated signal pathway plays an important role in schistosomiasis hepatic fibrosis. In this study we tried to investigate the effects of corilagin to ameliorate schistosomiasis hepatic fibrosis through regulating IL-13-associated signal pathway in vitro and in vivo. Cellular model was set up with hepatic stellate cells-T6 cells stimulated by rIL-13 and male Balb/c mice were infected with Schistosoma japonicum cercariaeas as animal model. Liver histological changes were observed with haematoxylin and eosin staining. Masson staining was employed to observe the change of egg granulomas. Expression of Col (collagen) and Col III were examined with Immunohistochemistry. Western bolt was employed to detect the JAK-1 and IL13Rα1 proteins. The mRNA expression of Col I, Col III, IL-13, JAK-1 and IL13Rα1 were tested by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. As a result, less inflammatory changes were found in all corilagin groups compared with model group and praziquantel group. The mRNA levels of Col I, Col III, IL-13, JAK-1 and IL13Rα1 were significantly decreased after corilagin intervention (P < 0·01). JAK-1 and IL-13Rα1 protein levels were also greatly decreased in the corilagin groups (P < 0·01). In conclusion, corilagin could ameliorate schistosomiasis hepatic fibrosis by down-regulating the expression of IL-13 and signal molecules in IL-13 pathway.

This study presents an arsenic concentration time series from 1964–2009 at Dome Argus, Antarctica. The data show a very large increase in arsenic concentration from the mid-1980s to the late-1990s (by a factor of~22) compared with the values before the mid-1980s. This increase is likely to be related to the increased copper smelting in South America. Arsenic concentration then decreased in the late-1990s, most probably as a result of environmental regulations in South America. The sudden increase in arsenic concentration observed at Dome Argus coincides with similar increases observed at Dome Fuji and in Antarctica Ice Core-6 (IC-6) at the same time, suggesting that arsenic pollution during the period from the mid-1980s to the late-1990s was a regional phenomenon in Antarctica. Investigations of arsenic concentrations at these three Antarctic locations show that, during this time, regional arsenic distribution followed dust transport pathways associated with general climate models with South America as a major source region for the half of Antarctica facing the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Conventional retrogression and re-aging (RRA) treatment could not be put to good use for combination property of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloys. The new RRA treatment fitted for spray formed Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy was investigated by transmission electron microscope, tensile, and conductivity tests. The results show that the pre-aging treatment with under aging of 120 °C for 16 h is beneficial for the redissolution of matrix precipitates during retrogression treatment. With the retrogression of 200 °C for 8 min, grain boundary precipitates are discrete and the corrosion resistance of the alloy is drastically increased. After re-aging (120 °C for 24 h) the strength of the alloy is increased again. According to the above-mentioned new RRA treatment, the ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, and conductivity of the alloy are 791 MPa, 736 MPa, 8.5%, and 39.5% IACS respectively, which is higher than that after conventional RRA treatment.

Ca0.98Eu0.02Al1−4δ/3Si1+δN3 (δ = 0–0.36) red-emitting phosphors were prepared by carbothermal reduction and nitridation method with stable and inexpensive CaCO3 as Ca source. Optimal nominal composition was obtained at δ = 0.18, showing intense emission peaked at 625 nm and high external quantum efficiency of 71%. The emission wave length could be successfully tuned from 630 to 606 nm with increasing δ value. Ca0.98Eu0.02Al1−4δ/3Si1+δN3 phosphors provided two coordinated environments for Eu2+ ions, resulting in two fitted Gaussian peaks. Energy transfer from Eu2+ sites in Si-rich environments to those in Si/Al-equivalent modes has been confirmed by analysis of the decay curve of each peak. The decay behaviors suggested that energy transfer effect slowed with higher δ value. Finally, warm white light was created by combining as-prepared red-emitting Ca0.98Eu0.02Al0.76Si1.18N3 and yellow-emitting YAG:Ce3+ phosphors with a blue-emitting chip, exhibiting a color rendering index R a of 91 at a low correlated color temperature of 3500 K with a luminous efficiency of 79 lm/W.

Few studies have explored the relationship between dietary patterns and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Evidence from non-Western areas is particularly lacking. In the present study, we aimed to examine the associations between dietary patterns and the risk of GDM in a Chinese population. A total of 3063 pregnant Chinese women from an ongoing prospective cohort study were included. Data on dietary intake were collected using a FFQ at 24–27 weeks of gestation. GDM was diagnosed using a 75 g, 2 h oral glucose tolerance test. Dietary patterns were determined by principal components factor analysis. A log-binomial regression model was used to examine the associations between dietary pattern and the risk of GDM. The analysis identified four dietary patterns: vegetable pattern; protein-rich pattern; prudent pattern; sweets and seafood pattern. Multivariate analysis showed that the highest tertile of the vegetable pattern was associated with a decreased risk of GDM (relative risk (RR) 0·79, 95 % CI 0·64, 0·97), compared with the lowest tertile, whereas the highest tertile of the sweets and seafood pattern was associated with an increased risk of GDM (RR 1·23, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·49). No significant association was found for either the protein-rich or the prudent pattern. The protective effect of a high vegetable pattern score was more evident among women who had a family history of diabetes (P for interaction = 0·022). These findings suggest that the vegetable pattern was associated with a decreased risk of GDM, while the sweets and seafood pattern was associated with an increased risk of GDM. These findings may be useful in dietary counselling during pregnancy.

Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is a heterogeneous autosomal recessive genetic disorder that affects melanin synthesis. OCA results in reduced or absent pigmentation in the hair, skin and eyes. Type 1 OCA (OCA1) is the result of tyrosinase (TYR) gene mutations and is a severe disease type. This study investigated TYR mutations in a Chinese cohort with OCA1. This study included two parts: patient genetic study and prenatal genetic diagnosis. A total of 30 OCA1 patients were subjected to TYR gene mutation analysis. Ten pedigrees were included for prenatal genetic diagnosis. A total of 100 unrelated healthy Chinese individuals were genotyped for controls. The coding sequence and the intron/exon junctions of TYR were analysed by bidirectional DNA sequencing. In this study, 20 mutations were identified, four of which were novel. Of these 30 OCA1 patients, 25 patients were TYR compound heterozygous; two patients carried homozygous TYR mutations; and three were heterozygous. Among the ten prenatally genotyped fetuses, three fetuses carried compound heterozygous mutations and seven carried no mutation or only one mutant allele of TYR and appeared normal at birth. In conclusion, we identified four novel TYR mutations and showed that molecular-based prenatal screening to detect TYR mutations in a fetus at risk for OCA1 provided essential information for genetic counselling of couples at risk.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of lutein and lycopene supplementation on carotid artery intima–media thickness (CAIMT) in subjects with subclinical atherosclerosis. A total of 144 subjects aged 45–68 years were recruited from local communities. All the subjects were randomly assigned to receive 20 mg lutein/d (n 48), 20 mg lutein/d+20 mg lycopene/d (n 48) or placebo (n 48) for 12 months. CAIMT was measured using Doppler ultrasonography at baseline and after 12 months, and serum lutein and lycopene concentrations were determined using HPLC. Serum lutein concentrations increased significantly from 0·34 to 1·96 μmol/l in the lutein group (P< 0·001) and from 0·35 to 1·66 μmol/l in the combination group (P< 0·001). Similarly, serum lycopene concentrations increased significantly from 0·18 to 0·71 μmol/l in the combination group at month 12 (P< 0·001), whereas no significant change was observed in the placebo group. The mean values of CAIMT decreased significantly by 0·035 mm (P= 0·042) and 0·073 mm (P< 0·001) in the lutein and combination groups at month 12, respectively. The change in CAIMT was inversely associated with the increase in serum lutein concentrations (P< 0·05) in both the active treatment groups and with that in serum lycopene concentrations (β = − 0·342, P= 0·031) in the combination group. Lutein and lycopene supplementation significantly increased the serum concentrations of lutein and lycopene with a decrease in CAIMT being associated with both concentrations. In addition, the combination of lutein and lycopene supplementation was more effective than lutein alone for protection against the development of CAIMT in Chinese subjects with subclinical atherosclerosis, and further studies are needed to confirm whether synergistic effects of lutein and lycopene exist.

The preference of fertilized (IVF) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) presumptive zygotes for different media when cultured in vitro to the blastocyst stage was evaluated in this study. The experiment comprised two zygote production methods (IVF and SCNT) × two culture media (mSOF and G1.5/G2.5) factorial design in which culture droplets that contained approximate 30 presumptive zygotes formed the experimental plots for the assessment of cleavage and blastocyst development. There were 15 to 20 replicates (culture droplets) per treatment combination. Sub-samples 30 to 41 of the blastocysts produced were assessed for cell number and cell apoptosis. A further 10 blastocysts per treatment combination were used for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to evaluate the relative abundance of Hsp70 and Bax mRNA. Presumptive zygotes produced by IVF were developmentally more competent than SCNT zygotes in terms of cleavage rate (66.9 vs. 57.0%; P < 0.05) and blastocyst development rates (blastocysts of presumptive zygotes 29.7 vs. 24.8%; blastocysts of cleaved zygotes 44.4 vs. 36.6%; P < 0.05). Over both zygote production systems, however, the results were similar whether culture was in mSOF or in G1.5/G2.5 media for cleavage rate (63.2 vs. 62.4%; P > 0.05) and blastocyst development rate (blastocysts of presumptive zygotes 26.4 vs. 25.7%; P > 0.05; blastocysts of cleaved zygotes 41.8 vs. 41.2%; P > 0.05). There was, however, a significant interaction between the method of zygote production and culture medium for the apoptotic index of blastocysts. The interaction was such that IVF-produced zygotes cultured in mSOF had a lower apoptotic index compared with those cultured in G1.5/G2.5 (4.7 ± 1.2% vs. 9.8 ± 0.9%; P < 0.05) whereas SCNT zygotes had a higher apoptotic index when cultured in mSOF compared with those cultured in G1.5/G2.5 (11.9 ± 1.5% vs. 4.5 ± 1.2%; P < 0.05). Moreover, RT-PCR analysis showed that embryos from IVF-produced zygotes cultured in mSOF had a lower expression level of stress-related and apoptosis genes (Hsp70 and Bax) than those cells cultured in G1.5/G2.5 medium, while SCNT-derived embryos cultured in mSOF had a higher expression level of these genes than those embryos cultured in G1.5/G2.5 medium. The results of this study show that bovine IVF- and SCNT-produced presumptive zygotes have different nutrient requirements for in vitro culture to the blastocyst stage of development. IVF-derived zygotes have a preference for mSOF as the culture medium whereas the G1.5/G2.5 medium is more suitable for the culture of bovine SCNT-derived zygotes.

During diabetes, structural and functional changes in the alimentary tract are known to take place resulting in an increased absorption of intestinal glucose and alterations in the activities of brush-border disaccharidases. To elucidate the effect of administrating polysaccharide from Gynura divaricata (PGD) on disaccharidase activities, the specific activities of intestinal disaccharidases, namely sucrase, maltase and lactase, were measured in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Normal control and diabetic rats were treated by oral administration with PGD. Specific activities of intestinal disaccharidases were increased significantly during diabetes, and amelioration of the activities of sucrase and maltase during diabetes was clearly visible by the treatment with PGD. However, the increased activity of lactase during diabetes mellitus was remarkably alleviated by the administration of PGD only in the duodenum. Meanwhile, oral sucrose tolerance tests demonstrated that PGD alleviated the hyperglycaemia during diabetes mellitus, resulting from the amelioration in the activities of intestinal disaccharidases. The present investigation suggests that PGD exerted an anti-diabetic effect partly via inhibiting the increased intestinal disaccharidase activities of diabetic rats. This beneficial influence of administration of PGD on intestinal disaccharidases clearly indicates their helpful role in the management of diabetes.

The chemical kinetics of laser pyrolysis of Si(CH3)2Cl2 was studied. Besides Si/C deposited on substrate as a needle the main gaseous products were H2 and HCI. The decomposition rate constants of Si(CH3)2Cl2 and the formation rate constants of H2 and HCl were measured. The chemical and physical properties of the Si/C needles were studied by various methods, such as their outer features, elemental analysis, Auger depth profile spectra, X-ray diffraction. Other useful properties, such as electric resistivity, photovoltaic effect and hardness, were also reported. A model for the pyrolysis and the growth process of this Si/C needles was proposed. It should be emphasized that the samples with desired physical properties could be grown by controlling the growth conditions properly -- the laser power and the pressure of Si(CH3)2Cl2.

In order to clarify the translocation and metabolism of glyphosate in lead tree, a mixture of glyphosate (0.5 mmol) and 14C-glyphosate was injected into mini tree plants (1.5-cm trunk diameter and 120 cm tall), simulating a grown lead tree in a greenhouse experiment. Within 6 d after treatment (DAT), all leaves on the lead tree plants dropped. Analysis of nonlabeled glyphosate in both xylem and phloem every 15 d showed that glyphosate residues accumulated mainly in phloem, similar to the findings in established lead tree. In this experiment, glyphosate concentration in the phloem of three parts of the trunk, i.e., upper (15 cm above the upper injection hole), middle (between the two injection holes), and lower (15 cm below the lower injection hole) parts, increased rapidly within 45 DAT, and decreased thereafter. Obviously, significant glyphosate metabolism occurred during the latter period. Further 14C radioactivity measurement also exhibited similar time-course changes of glyphosate dissipation, except that a low level of radioactivity in the phloem of the upper part and a high level of radioactivity in the lower part were detected from 45 to 90 DAT, suggesting that more glyphosate metabolites in the phloem of the upper part might have translocated with photosynthetic assimilates and reallocated to the lower part of the mini tree. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) analysis of metabolites derived from 14C-glyphosate also revealed that about 70% of the radioactivity recovered in the phloem of the lower part comprised the unknown metabolites M1 (retention factor [Rf] : 0.83) and M2 (Rf : 0.94), with nearly 28% of the radioactivity from sarcosine (Rf : 0.76), and less than 2% of the radioactivity from aminomethylphosphoric acid (AMPA) (Rf : 0.49) and glyphosate (Rf : 0.36). It is concluded that active metabolism of glyphosate in this 90-d simulation experiment occurred mainly from 45 to 90 DAT, and the primary metabolism was modulated by C-P lyase.

To identify the disease-causing gene for a large multi-generational Chinese family affected by familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (FHCM), genome-wide screening was carried out in a Chinese family with FHCM using micro-satellite markers, and linkage analysis was performed using the MLINK program. The disease locus was mapped to 1q32 in this family. Screening for a mutation in the cardiac troponin T (cTnT) gene was performed by a PCR and sequencing was done with an ABI Prism 3700 sequencer. A novel C→G transition located in the ninth exon of the cTnT gene, leading to a predicted amino acid residue change from Ile to Met at codon 90, was identified in all individuals with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The results presented here strongly suggest that Ile90Met, a novel mutation in the cTnT gene, is causative agent of HCM in this family.